Page 32 of Infected By Virus

RAE

One second, she was drowning in his hazel gaze, the next, panic struck. Darrin’s voice from the past broke through her daze, teleporting her back in time.

He’d ask her to meet him at their spot after work. It wasn’t anywhere special to anyone else, but to them, it had been magical. The first place they kissed, said the L-word, and later, the first place they’d made love.

Nothing more than a little hidden pond almost completely shaded by three trees. Technically on someone else’s property, but they still trespassed to be there.

Darrin was sitting on the tailgate of his truck. Looking damn near irresistible in faded jeans and a tight-fitting tee. The makeshift bed in the back was sprinkled with petals from the nearby wildflowers.

In hindsight, he was making the effort she’d craved, begged for.

He hopped down as she got out of her car.

Rae didn’t appreciate the beauty of it at the time.

She’d been cross with Darrin for weeks, and it was time for it to come to a head. His flirtations with Celeste were out of control.

When she approached him with arms crossed, he held his hands out, but she didn’t take them. Darrin didn’t notice, and instead, he peeled her hands away from her body and interlaced their fingers.

When she tried to give him an earful, he shushed her.

“Can we not do this again, Sunny? You know I love you.” She raised an eyebrow as he played with her hand before slipping a finger into his mouth. God, she hated when he did that, because it always led to sex and then they never settled anything.

Snatching her hands back, she crossed her arms. “You say you do, but every time I turn around, you’re flirting with anything in a skirt.”

“That’s unfair and you know it. I’ve been nothing but loyal to you, so I don’t know where this keeps coming from. But I can tell you I’m getting tired of being accused of things I haven’t done.”

His voice started out hurt and exhausted, but finished with a hard edge.

“Really?”

“Yeah, fucking really.”

“So, you lying on top of my sister with her hand practically on your dick or you rubbing sunscreen on her back with her top untied is a study in loyalty? All that is typical behavior of a man in love with someone else?”

His eyes completely shut down. No emotion left, not even anger. They just went cold. She knew the end was near and she couldn’t do anything to stop it. She was just so tired of hating herself and blaming him. Rae didn’t want them to end, but the exact opposite—she expected Darrin to reassure her, but he didn’t even try.

“What about you, Rae? You think I flirt, well, pot meet kettle. I may not see you in action, but I hear all fucking about it. Fuck if I don’t get a detailed rundown every fucking time he sees you.”

She was stunned. Not only did she not flirt, but she also barely even talked to other men because she was so wrapped up in Darrin. Hell, she didn’t even notice other men the way she did him. They all paled in comparison.

“What? Who are you talking about?”

“It doesn’t fucking matter, Rae. Do you really believe I want someone else?”

“How else do you ex?—”

“Don’t throw questions back at me, Rae. Just answer me truthfully, once and for all. Do you think I want someone else?”

She didn’t want to say it, because she knew where it was leading, but she was honest if nothing else.

“Yes.”

He raked his hand through his hair and stared at her with those emotionless eyes again.

“Then why are you here with me? You obviously think I’m an unfaithful, lying asshole who wants to fuck anyone and everyone. So why lower yourself to be with someone like me?”

His words hurt. All she wanted was a little reassurance, and he couldn’t even give her that. He never really denied the incidents with Celeste. Just explained them away at the time and Rae listened. Celeste’s accounts were worlds different from Darrin’s.

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